“Miracle” is a term not often thrown around in academic circles, but when it comes to the hundreds of fossilised tracks — human and animal — embedded in rocks across SA’s coastline, it seems appropriate.
First, they’re old. Exceptionally old. The youngest are about 30,000 years old, and most of the fossil trackways are between 90,000 and 130,000 years old. But there are examples of fossils that are 400,000 years old and 720,000 years old (at Dana Bay and inside a cave at Pinnacle Point, both outside Mossel Bay, respectively).
Then it’s how they are formed. They’re made from sand which, due to rain or dew or other moisture, is now a slightly different texture from the dry sand that covers it, effectively separating the tracks from the sand that surrounds them. Those moist patches then get buried and, over time, more and more layers of sand pile on top, burying those tracks deeper — and the quicker the better because the tracks stay fresh and well preserved. Over time, water percolates down, eventually turning that sand into cement-like rock.
But these human and animal prints are not visible, and that’s where the next step comes in. Erosion, cliff collapses and general exposure to the elements — sometimes a combination of these — have to take place so the fossils can be re-exposed.
And therein lies another danger: the re-exposed fossils can easily erode, deteriorate or collapse into the sea before they are seen.
That about 300 of these track sites have been identified and studied on a 350km stretch of the SA coastline in the past 14 years is remarkable. At least four human tracks have been identified (taking it to six across SA after earlier finds), as well as dozens of animals, including now-extinct “megafauna” such as the long-horned buffalo, giant Cape zebra, Cape subspecies of the African lion and other creatures that no longer inhabit the region, including crocodiles and giraffe. They are a crucial insight into life tens of thousands of years ago.
I regard every single one of those 300 track sites as a little miracle. The fact that all of those things happen, it’s kind of against the odds.
— Dr Charles Helm
“I regard every single one of those 300 track sites as a little miracle,” researcher and academic Dr Charles Helm told Sunday Times Daily. “The fact that all of those things happen, it’s kind of against the odds.”
SA-born Helm is now based in Canada, but has been one of the leading academics studying these fossilised tracks. Since 2007 scientists have set their sites on the SA coast, particularly the Cape south coast, as part of documenting and researching something that provides insight into early human and animal life thousands of years ago.
“The easiest way to think of this is that these are time capsules. Let’s say 130,000 years ago, these are the very same dunes and beaches that our ancestors were walking on and could look at and enjoy, and that other animals were walking on as well. That’s the amazing thing.
“It’s near-miraculous that in this area in Southern Africa, where human beings sort of became modern and found their feet, that those same surfaces that they were treading are actually available to us to interpret. These are some of the best rocks of that kind in the world and the fact they happen right where humans found their feet ... that’s called serendipity. It’s incredibly fortuitous,” said Helm.
But as with many things, it is the descendants of these early humans who are causing untold damage. Graffiti — mostly carvings of names, initials and outpourings of love — threatens to damage the fossil track sites and prevent them from ever being studied.
0 of 3
This situation is outlined in a journal article by Helm and his team, “Protecting and preserving South African aeolianite surfaces from graffiti”.
The study notes: “Unfortunately, their [the cemented rocks’] relatively soft, friable nature makes them suitable canvases for graffiti artists. A hammer and chisel can easily deface or completely destroy these surfaces, and their scientific, heritage and aesthetic attributes. Repeat visits indicate that this is an active problem, and that the prevalence of graffiti is increasing. Possibly, the presence of graffiti acts as an incitement to other potential graffiti artists.”
Helm said the worst-case scenario would be that crucial information is permanently damaged and with it a massive loss to the historical and cultural significance of what the fossils represent.
“I don’t think any of this is malicious,” he said. “People do it out of ignorance.”
One example was “Eve’s Footprints”, a set of human footprints found in Langebaan. Graffiti came so close that the rock was dug out, airlifted to Cape Town’s Iziko Museum and saved just in time.
At one of the four recently identified human footprint sites graffiti was carved into the rock about two metres away. A lucky near-miss.
But at another site, known as “Little Cave”, graffiti engravings were devastating, which Helm described as “heartbreaking”.
The surface is just filled with graffiti. We can see the tracks [footprints] underneath, but they’ve just sort of been destroyed. It looks to us that this was a human track site and it’s just useless now.
— Dr Charles Helm
“The surface is just filled with graffiti. We can see the tracks [footprints] underneath, but they’ve just sort of been destroyed. It looks to us that this was a human track site and it’s just useless now. We can’t write about it, we can’t interpret it, we can’t do anything with it.
“Hominin track sites ... are not common things. There’s a total of 60 to 70 of these in the world. When we do discover them we can work out how tall the person was, how many were in the group or were they a family group. This is our heritage. This is where we began to think and act like humans.
“As scientists we are racing against the graffiti artists to see who can get there first. It’s not that common yet, but I do see the warning signs,” he said.
For Helm, the most vital part of dealing with the problem is about education and awareness. People need to understand, he said, that these are “precious rocks” that form part of not just South Africa’s history, but of human history, and that they are worthy of heritage and conservation.
“We are humans and we’re talking about 4,000 generations ago. These are our great, great, great grandparents who walked there. And you and I and most people would think that that’s really cool. Body fossils ... are very, very interesting, but they’re essentially dead. But when you look at a trackway, yes it was 130,000 years ago, but it’s as if this person was walking there a few minutes ago. It’s like a movie as opposed to a photograph. You can see action; you can see motion.
“I think awareness is the first step. Education is probably going to be the best way. Many of the areas are in national parks ... a lot are in protected areas, so one can work with SANParks and CapeNature to try to help with the education. You can have signs at access points at the beach. We’ve thought of things like having rocks that say: ‘This has nothing on it and carve your initials here and leave the others alone.’ People have tried to do that with trees, but I’m not sure it’s worked.
If this doesn’t work, said Helm, the worst case is losing much of this heritage.
“Now is the time to speak up, when it’s increasing, but still not that bad — but it’s coming,” he said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.